Customer Reviews

Samba Party Workout 1: Brazilian Rhythm Celebration

5 star:		(17)
4 star:		(11)
3 star:		(5)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

Vanessa had a previous dvd called "Brazilian Dance Workout" that had great ideas, but she didn't teach enough & used many stage-style complicated steps. This time she's fixed those mistakes.
The menu options are: Guidelines, Complete workout, Workout chapters, Learning the moves, About Samba, About Brazil & Credits
It's set on the street with 5 girls dancing backup & live band on the sidewalk.
She teaches the steps not only in it's own menu option: basic step (more open step back & forth), samba roll (hip circle), samba box (more open regular box step), samba (simplified samba easy step & raises heart rate), samba twist (twisted grapevine, really works the obliques & abs) & samba groove (easy step w/letting go of abs & chest back & forth) but also when she first introduces the dvd. She teaches in half times a few times with some basic cues which is enough to get it for almost anyone.
The pace is great, she doesn't let you take a break, only drop to basic step in between. She builds up the 6 different steps into a routine.
The only minor complaints I have is I wish there were more steps & the band is just percussion, so to me it can get boring/tedious after a while.
This is great for those who don't know how latin dance & moderately workout. Those who are in great shape & already know latin dancing might find this too easy.
There's a trailer of this & her other dvds at: collegevideo com

I love this video! It's easy to learn the steps during the video but there is a separate section with the different steps if you need it. You can put more into the movements (raise your arms higher, sway your hips more, twist more, use more upper body motion)or you can take it easier by moving your body less. I find that each time I do it, I'm upping the intensity just by getting more into it and moving more. I feel like I'm really dancing not just repeating exercie movements. The drumming was appropriate--it didn't overwhelm the dancing. I suppose one could get more or less out of the drumming depending on your focus. I am very happy I spent my money on this video!!

This workout is deceptively simple. There is an excellent "Learn the Steps" section so that you are not entirely clumsy when you start to dance. The steps themselves are not at all difficult to master with a little practice. However, as the instructor increases the speed you really get a terrific workout. Because the steps are not terribly complicated you can really get into the rhythm and let your body feel the music instead of intellectually concentrating to do the moves correctly. You can have a good time with this whether you are just beginning to exercise again or are in great shape and just want to have fun. Be patient. Chances are you are doing this in the privacy of your own home. Nobody is watching you. Just go with it til you are a Samba Diva.

Samba Party Workout 1: Brazilian Rhythm Celebration is competently hosted by Vanessa Isaac and provides a lively and energetic 35-minute introduction to the amazing and passionate world of Samba dancing. Educating the viewer in an easy-to-follow, step-by-step, simplified instructional manner, Samba Party Workout 1 brings a surplus of life into the enjoyable activity of dance with this unique and invigorating style, engaging the viewer both physically and mentally. A welcome addition to any personal or music/dance school instructional DVD collection, Samba Party Workout 1 is very highly recommended for its "user-friendly" construct and intriguing content to all viewers looking for a fun and lively "how to" guide to dancing the Samba!

Ok, so I almost feel bad giving this three stars, because I DO enjoy it-it's a fun little dance routine that does combine some traditional samba moves, and it will get your heart rate up...but I do have some issues.

Vanessa is VERY thorough in going over each move. In fact, too thorough, in my opinion. You will go over one move several times, then go to the next one several times, then back to the first one several times, and so on. It keeps progressing like this, which is great the first few times you do it, but after awhile it can be boring because you've learned the steps already, and there is no option to skip the "instruction" part and just go to the dance. This is actually my problem with a lot of dance dvd's-it's nice to have thorough cues the first few times you do it, but after awhile it just gets annoying and boring. And-there aren't that many "moves" on here to begin with, so you almost feel as if she is just trying to fill in time by repeating everything a thousand times.

So, it is fun to do, and will get your heart rate up a bit. But after about 4-5 times, you may get sick of it. I do love samba though, so I hope she will release another video sometime soon!

I would even give this video 10 stars if I could. It was very easy to learn all the steps since she isolates each one in a separate viewing option, then practices each step in slow, or half time, then at full speed. If you review these basic steps before viewing the actual work out, you are ready to go! Some have said this workout is boring, but I find it fun, fun, fun. With a solid foundation with all the steps, which are repeated in each rerun of the entire dance, you can just loose yourself in the rhythm, add your own arm movement variations, swing, sway, sweat and forget your cares. The rhythm is infectious, the directions are very clear, the dance leader has a pleasant demeanor, and hey, I worked up the best sweat I have in a while to a dance video. I know this will be one of my favorites. The workout itself, once you learn the moves, is about a half hour long. That's enough for me to work up a sweat and have fun with dancing!!!!

I really did enjoy this workout, since it was upbeat and interesting. There was lots of repetition of the same steps, which I personally liked because that way I could not only perfect the step but I could add my own "flair," also. While I did love this product (a fun way to get moving) it was a little short and awfully basic. I don't know that much about samba, so I'm not sure if it's only because samba is not all that elaborate of a dance or if it's just because this is purely a beginner's video. Overall, it was fun, it is a good samba foundation, but I got sick of the same thing when I did it one week in a row...I'd suggest throwing in some other videos/exercises to spice things up.

I had been looking for a way to exersize with a small toddler underfoot, something that would be fun, not too time-consuming and could be done indoors. This was a perfect solution! I love Vanessa Isaac's style and personality. She's really easy to follow and learn from. I started by going through the "learn the moves" section of the DVD and then did the workout and I caught on really fast, but I also improved over the weeks too. This will get you sweating, give you a good 30-40 min workout and it's fun to do! If you get tired of just listening to drums, it's all done in a simple rhythm that you can dance to with your own music. I would recommend doing your own stretches for a few minutes before starting up (or start the complete workout and stretch while Vanessa is doing the introduction). I noticed a difference in my body within a couple of days! My stomach started firming up, my legs got in great shape, and I started getting compliments within a month that I was looking thin! You can't beat that. This is definitely the way to go if you're starting out learning Samba style fitness too, it's a good workout but not as taxing as her second album. I would recommend buying this, do it for at least a month, and then add vol. 2 a couple of days a week after that for some variety and to improve your stamina even more. I love this workout and you will too! My daughter loves watching the workout too... she even waves her arms around and "talks" at the TV while I'm working out, so it's fun for both of us.

I'm not a dancer but I like to dance. When I first saw the "Samba Party Workout" I thought, "Wow, I wish I could dance like that." I played the dvd trying to keep up, watching and repeating. It took me about a week before I felt I was catching on and now I'm hooked. It doesn't feel like excersize - it feels like fun. If I can do this, then anyone can - its really "Samba for all".

This is good solid workout that makes me sweat and feel very good when I am done. I sometimes do it twice because it is so fun.

The movents are fluid which help loosen the whole body, specially hips and back. I do other stepping workouts and lifting weights but this brings back some natural movement that I don't get through other workouts.

It is fairly easy to get the movements down. I started with the section that teaches the moves first, then it was easier to do the workout. The music is great and easy to move with an African beat. Love it and will be purchasing Vanessa's other DVD.